“This is a significant breakthrough in the fight for abortion rights here.

“The Public Prosecution Service has now stated clearly they can see no risk of criminal prosecution in these circumstances.

“This is hugely important and should relieve the profession of this chilling threat.”

Breedagh Hughes from NI Director of Royal College of Midwives, has also welcomed the news.

Ms Hughes said: “Midwives have been operating in a climate of fear of prosecution since 2013.

Alliance for Choice supporters outside Musgrave police station following the prosecution of a Belfast mother who helped her daughter unlawfully procure Early Medication Abortion pills Mifepristone and Misoprostol in 2013

“Women in Northern Ireland have not been getting the care and referrals they really need because of this threat, which we now know does not exist.

“Healthcare professionals will now be able to refer women to the rest of the UK for abortion services, confident that they will not face prosecution.

“This will enable us to look after women who seek or need abortion services.”

Both women have now called on the Department of Health to issue guidance on the matter.

Grainne Teggart added: “We now have clarification that no offence exists around ‘advocating or promoting abortion’.

“This is a matter of DHSS policy and raises the question why it is in the guidance in the first place.

“We call on the Department of Health to urgently revise their guidance and work closely with the UK Equalities Office to ensure a clear pathway for women accessing abortion in the rest of the UK.”